Motor vehicle wiper comprising a connector with a safety lock

ABSTRACT

A motor vehicle wiper articulated on a wiper arm by a connector provided with a sliding lock co-operating with a transverse element of the blade for fixing the connector on the blade. The lock includes a control plate capable of elastic deformation along a direction perpendicular to the lock sliding direction and bears means for blocking the lock which, when the lock is free in the locking position, co-operate with matching means integral with the blade for blocking the lock, and, further, when the control plate is deformed, are released from the matching means for enabling the lock to slide.

BACKGROUND

The invention concerns a motor vehicle wiper having a safety lock.

The invention more specifically concerns a motor vehicle windshieldwiper of the type in which the wiper blade is articulated at a free endof a wiper arm by means of a connector which straddles a bladeconnection portion and which is provided with two parallel longitudinalwings between which a transverse element extends. The connector has alock that slides between an unlocked position and a locked position inwhich it cooperates with the transverse element of the blade in order toensure the attachment of the connector on the blade, and the lock havingan upper manipulation plate.

A windshield wiper of this type is known, for example, from FR-A-2700309. This type of wiper is particularly advantageous in that it makeseasy mounting and removal of the wiper blade possible even by a userwith little experience.

SUMMARY

The invention aims to propose a new improved design of the sliding lockwhich makes it possible to further increase the reliability of thecatching thus brought about without increasing its complexity or cost.

For this purpose, the invention proposes a windshield wipe of theinitially described type characterized by the fact that the uppermanipulation plate is elastically deformable in a directionperpendicular to the sliding direction of the lock, and by the fact thatthe upper manipulation plate carries a means of immobilizing the lockthat, when the lock is in the free state in a locked position,cooperates with a complementary means connected to the blade in order toimmobilize the lock, and that, when the plate is deformed, disengagesfrom the complementary means in order to make possible the sliding ofthe lock.

According to other characteristics of the invention:

the lock has a catching means that extends downward from a bottomsurface of the manipulation plate and is intended to cooperate, when thelock is in locked position, with a bottom surface of the transverseelement, with the catching means carrying the means of immobilizing thelock;

the immobilization means consists of a finger with a verticalorientation, and the complementary means consists of a complementaryrecess in which the finger is held when the lock is in the free state;

the immobilization finger extends vertically upward from the catchingmeans, and the recess is formed in the lower surface of the transverseelement;

the upper manipulation plate comprises, at each of its longitudinalends, a guide means for sliding the lock on the connector, and a centralpart of the plate, which carries the catching means and which can bevertically displaced by elastic deformation of the plate; and

in the free state, the upper plate has a cross section in the form of anarc of a circle with downward concavity.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear uponreading the detailed description which follows, for whose comprehensionreference will be made to the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a wiper according to thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of the wiper of FIG. 1, with thelock in a locked position;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2, of the lock when itsmanipulation plate is deformed; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 3, with the lock in unlockedposition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows connection portion 10 of motor vehicle wiper blade 12.Connection portion 10 is formed, e.g., by the central portion of a mainstirrup piece of blade 12. Connection portion 10 essentially has twoparallel longitudinal wings 14 that run along the longitudinal directionof blade 12.

Blade 12 is intended to be mounted at free longitudinal end 16 of wiperarm 18 that has the function, on the one hand, of laying blade 12against the glass to be wiped, and, on the other hand, of moving theblade in an alternating sweeping motion so that it moves along theglass.

Blade 12 is intended to be articulated on arm 18 by means of connector20, which is mounted in an articulated manner so as to rotate abouttransverse axis Al on arm 18 and which is attached on connection portion10 of blade 12.

Connector 20 is generally fabricated from plastic, and it essentiallyhas two lateral flanges 22 joined by transverse upper back 24. Theconnector thus has the form of an upside-down U in cross section andconnector 20 is intended to straddle connection portion 10 of blade 12,the two wings 14 of which are held between the two flanges 22 ofconnector 20.

Each of flanges 22 of connector 20 has a cylindrical trunnion 26 thatextends transversely outward so that it can be held in opening 28 formedin each of two cheeks 30 of free end 16 of arm 18. The two cheeks 30 arelongitudinally parallel and form a fork, and flanges 22 of connector 20are held transversely between the two cheeks 30.

Trunnions 26 therefore ensure the mounting of connector 20 so that itcan rotate with respect to arm 18. In the embodiment example illustratedin FIG. 1, intermediate piece 32 is interposed between connector 20 andfree end 16 of arm 18 in order to limit operating play and, at the sametime, to reduce the wear and tear and noise which can result from therelative movement of connector 20 with respect to arm 18.

In a known manner, connector 20 has some means for ensuring its closeattachment to connection portion 10 of blade 12.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the stirrup piece of blade 12 has transverseupper back 34 which connects the two wings 14 outside of connectionportion 10, which is therefore delimited longitudinally by twotransverse edges 36, 38 of back 34.

In order to ensure the complete immobilization of connector 20 withrespect to arm 12, it is therefore sufficient to prevent any movement ofupward vertical withdrawal of connector 20 from connection portion 10.

For this purpose, connector 20 has sliding lock 40 which is mounted sothat it can slide in opening 42 formed in upper back 24 of connector 20.Lock 40 is intended to cooperate with transverse element 44, whichconnects the two wings 14 of connection portion 10.

In this embodiment example of the invention, transverse element 44 ofblade 12 is produced in a single piece with wings 14 of connectionportion 10.

Transverse element 44 is in the form of a horizontal plate that connectsthe two upper longitudinal edges of wings 14 over a part of the lengthof connection portion 10.

Moreover, transverse element 44 has longitudinal slot 50 that extendslongitudinally over approximately three-quarters of its length and thatopens longitudinally into front edge 52 of transverse element 44. Slot50 is formed to be symmetrical with respect to the center of the twowings 14 along the transverse direction.

Sliding lock 40 essentially has approximately horizontal uppermanipulation plate 54, from the bottom surface of which extends verticalfoot 56, which, when connector 20 is mounted on connection portion 10 ofblade 12, extends between the two wings 14 of blade 12.

At its lower end, foot 56 has two opposing protuberances 64 that extendtransversely outward.

Lock 40 is intended to slide with respect to connector 20 and withrespect to blade 12 between a moved-forward unlocked position, in whichat least protuberances 64 are arranged longitudinally ahead of frontedge 52 of transverse element 44, and a moved-back locked position, inwhich foot 56 is arranged across slot 50, with protuberances 64 arrangedbelow the level of transverse element 44. Thus, as can be seen in FIG.2, upper surfaces 66 of protuberances 64 vertically face lower surfaces68 of transverse element 44 which are arranged transversely on bothsides of slot 50, preventing any withdrawal upward of the connector 20and lock 40 assembly with respect to blade 12.

Furthermore, longitudinally, immediately behind slot 50, transverseelement 44 has hole 74 that is intended to hold finger 76 that extendsvertically at the free end of horizontal bar 78 that extendslongitudinally towards the rear from a lower end of foot 56,approximately in the same horizontal plane as protuberances 64. As canbe seen in FIG. 2, when the connector is moved back in the lockedposition, finger 76 of bar 78 engages with hole 74 in order to ensurethe immobilization of lock 40. In contrast, as can be seen in FIG. 4,when the lock is in moved-forward unlocked position, bar 78 and itsfinger 76 are arranged vertically facing slot 50, which ensures thepossibility of mounting or removal of connector 20 and of its lock 40with respect to blade 12 by simple vertical displacement.

According to the teachings of the invention, the passage of lock 40 fromits locking position to its unlocked position cannot occurunintentionally.

In effect, bar 78 is relatively rigid so that when finger 76 engageswith hole 74, lock 40 cannot move forward toward its unlocked position.

In contrast, it is provided that the upper manipulation plate of lock 40is elastically deformable between a free position illustrated in FIGS. 2and 4 and a deformed position illustrated in FIG. 3.

In its free state, manipulation plate 54 extends approximately in theform of an arc of circle with downward concavity so that it cooperateswith guide rails 62, which form the longitudinal edges of opening 42 ofconnector 20, only at its two longitudinal ends. As can be seenparticularly in FIG. 1, manipulation plate 54 of lock 40 in effect has,at each of its longitudinal ends, a means 60 guiding its longitudinalsliding along rails 62 of connector 20, without preventing the verticaldisplacement of the central part of plate 54 when it is deformed.

The central part of manipulation plate 54, from which catching foot 56extends downward, therefore at that time extends above the level of itstwo longitudinal ends, so that foot 56 occupies a high position withrespect to blade 12. In this position, when lock 40 is in the lockedposition, finger 76 is completely engaged in hole 74, as can be seen inFIG. 2.

In contrast, as represented in FIG. 3, when the user compresses plate 54by pressing vertically downward on its central portion, a flattening ofplate 54 occurs, so that catching foot 56 is brought towards a lowposition with respect to blade 12. With horizontal bar 78 connected tothe lower end of catching foot 56, finger 76 is then disengagedvertically downward from hole 74.

Once finger 76 disengages, the user can then make lock 40 slide forwardtoward its unlocked position illustrated in FIG. 4.

This design of lock 40 makes it possible to ensure that lock 40 cannotaccidentally go from its locked position to its unlocked position, evenunder the effect of intense vibration or of impact from an object.

In the embodiment of the invention, the immobilization of lock 40 isonly provided in its locked position. However, it is also possible,without deviating from the scope of the invention, that lock 40 beimmobilized in its unlocked position.

Likewise, it is also possible that the immobilization of lock 40 beensured by the cooperation of an element of lock 40 with connectorelement 20.

What is claimed is:
 1. A motor vehicle windshield wiper of the typewhich has a wiper blade articulated at a free end of a wiper arm bymeans of a connector which straddles a connection portion of the bladeprovided with two parallel longitudinal wings between which a transverseelement extends, and which the connector has a lock mounted thereon forsliding between an unlocked position and a locked position in which itcooperates with the transverse element of the blade in order to ensurethe attachment of the connector on the blade, and in which the lock hasan upper manipulation plate, characterized in that the uppermanipulation plate is elastically deformable in a directionperpendicular to the sliding direction of the lock and in that the uppermanipulation plate carries a means of immobilization of the lock, which,when the lock is in a free state in the locked position, cooperates witha complementary means connected to the blade in order to immobilize thelock, and which, when the plate is deformed, disengages from thecomplementary means in order to make possible the sliding of the lock.2. The wiper according to claim 1, characterized in that the lock has acatching means that extends downward from a bottom surface of themanipulation plate and that is intended to cooperate, when the lock isin the locked position, with a bottom surface of the transverse element,and in that the catching means carries a means of immobilization of thelock.
 3. The wiper according to claim 2, characterized in that theimmobilizing means consists of a finger with a vertical orientation, andthat the complementary means consists of a complementary recess in whichthe finger is held when the lock is in the free state.
 4. The wiperaccording to claim 3, characterized in that the finger extendsvertically upward from the catching means, and in that the recess isformed in the bottom surface of the transverse element.
 5. The wiperaccording to claim 2 characterized in that the upper manipulation platehas longitudinal ends, at each of its longitudinal ends, a means forguiding the sliding of the lock on the connector, and in that a centralpart of the plate, which carries the catching means can be verticallydisplaced by elastic deformation of the plate.
 6. The wiper according toclaim 5, characterized in that in the free state, the upper plate has across section in the form of an arc of a circle with downward concavity.